Spoken English for Nonnative Speakers: Integrated Academic Skills II Linguistics 380 Winter 2016 Tuesdays & Thursdays, 5:00-6:20 Annenberg G32

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1 Spoken English for Nonnative Speakers: Integrated Academic Skills II Linguistics 380 Winter 2016 esdays & ursdays, 5:00-6:20 Annenberg G32 Instructor: Erin Leddon, Ph.D. Phone: (847) (although I am best reached by ) Office: Linguistics Department, 2016 Sheridan Road, Room 305 Office Hours: esdays, 1:00-3:00 or by appointment Course website (a.k.a. Canvas ): Course Objectives By the end of this course, students should be able to: 1. Employ strategies for effective communication in the American academic context, including teaching in small groups, lecturing, presenting data, working in small groups of peers, holding office hours with US undergraduates, and networking at professional events. 2. Describe key features of the sound structure of English, including the articulation of consonants and vowels, word stress, linking, intonation, and prosody. 3. Describe key components of English proficiency assessment and the Versant English Test. 4. Identify their own strengths and weaknesses when listening to English, and demonstrate progress toward improved comprehension. 5. Identify their own strengths and weaknesses when speaking English, and demonstrate progress toward improved proficiency (intelligibility and effectiveness). Course Description is course explores effective academic communication in the American classroom through observation, analysis, and practice. e emphasis is on developing students oral English proficiency while preparing them for success as graduate students and teaching assistants. Students will investigate academic communication skills such as: effective listening, working in small groups, reporting data, lecturing on introductory concepts, writing abstracts, and networking. Students will practice the use of these forms in preparation for becoming teachers themselves, developing their writing, listening, speaking, and presentation skills with the use of instructor and peer feedback. In the process, students will address specific points in English grammar, pronunciation, and fluency, in preparation for successful classroom communication, and improved performance on the Versant test.

2 Materials (required) Grant, Linda (2010). Well Said: Pronunciation for Clear Communication, 3 rd edition Please bring this text to every class. It is available at the Norris bookstore, or online. Eligibility and Enrollment is course is designated for international graduate students of Northwestern University enrolled in the Integrated Academic Skills curriculum. It is not open to other students. If you are an Integrated Academic Skills student and have not already enrolled, please contact me to obtain a permission number so you can enroll through CAESAR. You have the option to take this course on a P/N (Pass/No Pass) basis, or for a letter grade (A, B, C, etc.). You can choose your grading option in CAESAR at the time of registration. e instructor will not know which option you have selected, and cannot select an option for you. Assessment Attendance & Participation Learning from this course requires active participation, so regular attendance is mandatory. If you cannot attend a class for some reason, please contact me as soon as possible by . You are allowed two unexcused absences during the quarter. Missing more than two classes will affect your grade and ability to pass the class. Assignments Homework assignments will be evaluated by the instructor, and are due on the date listed. Late homework assignments will not be accepted, except in the case of serious, documented emergencies. Students will also receive feedback on in-class activities. Students will complete several recording assignments to provide samples of their spoken English proficiency and listening comprehension. Students will receive individual instructor feedback on each to identify their strengths and weaknesses when using spoken English and provide suggestions for improvement (Course Objectives 4 and 5). Particular emphasis will be put on intelligibility, drawing on knowledge of the sound structure of English (Course Objective 2). Students will complete presentation assignments with the goal of effective communication in networking contexts, small group interactions, and lecture-style academic presentations (Course Objective 1). Students will receive feedback to identify strengths and weaknesses, and suggestions for improvement (Course Objective 5). Students will complete periodic Canvas quizzes about the sound structure of English (Course Objective 1), assessment of English proficiency (Course Objective 3), and strategies for effective communication in the academic context (Course Objective 1). Students will submit short writing assignments reflecting on the undergraduate experience in their home country (Course Objective 1), and creating practice items for proficiency assessment on the Versant test (Course Objective 3).

3 Students will participate in group Versant practice sessions to gain confidence and familiarity with the test, and receive instructor feedback on performance (Course Objective 3, Course Objective 5). Breakdown of final grade Participation & Attendance: 15% Recording Assignments: 20% Presentation Assignments: 25% Canvas Quizzes: 20% Written Assignments: 20% A note on our learning environment All speakers of English make mistakes occasionally. Each student will enter this class with different skills and strengths in English, and no one will excel in every area. Errors are inevitable, but they are an asset to learning, not an obstacle! ey provide an important opportunity for feedback, which will in turn help you to improve your language skills. A friendly atmosphere where everyone is comfortable making mistakes is the key to making progress, so please be respectful of your classmates questions and comments, and offer to help one another as needed. Please keep your phones and dictionaries in your bag during class, and keep your laptops and tablets closed. If you have questions, chances are other students do, too. You are encouraged to ask lots of questions, even if they do not directly pertain to the day s lesson (and time will be set aside each day for such questions). Please just ask!

4 Tentative Schedule Note: e following is subject to change. Revisions to the syllabus will be posted on Canvas. Date Topic Homework Due Jan. 5, Course Introduction Day 1 Versant test review Icebreaker Paraphrasing practice Jan. 7, Communicative Focus: Effective listening Writing Assignment 1: Day 2 Listening for form, listening for content Write and submit 10 sentences of 5-10 words on any topic (in the style of the Repeats section of Versant test), to be used for writing feedback and Jan. 12, Day 3 Jan. 14, Day 4 Jan. 19, Day 5 Jan. 21, Day 6 Jan. 26, Day 7 Communicative Focus: Effective listening continued Listening for content Pronunciation Focus: Clear speech Evaluating speech recognition applications Pronunciation Focus: Consonants Communicative Focus: Working with US undergraduates Undergraduate profile Building rapport with undergraduates Pronunciation Focus: Vowels Communicative Focus: Effective lecturing, classroom management, giving feedback Pronunciation Focus: Syllables and word endings Communicative Focus: Working in small groups of peers Negotiation activity Meet in MMLC: Main Library, B183 Versant practice in-class practice Recording Assignment 1 Due Quiz 1 Writing Assignment 2: Write a short paragraph describing the typical day of an undergraduate student at your undergraduate university, and be prepared to share it with the class Writing Assignment 3: Write and submit 4 related sentences in the style of the Reading portion of the Versant test Quiz 2 Jan. 28, Communicative Focus: Collaborating and Project Work in the absence of visual information Communicative Focus: Reporting data in charts/graphs Strategies Presentation Assignment 1: Bring in one slide of data

5 Day 8 Practice Feb. 2, Day 9 Feb. 4, Day 10 Pronunciation Focus: Stress in Words Communicative Focus: Teaching in small groups Teaching basic definitions Pronunciation Focus: Rhythm in sentences Communicative Focus: Teaching in small groups continued to present from your own research or another s Presentation Assignment 2: Be prepared to teach the definition of a basic term in your field to a small group (3 minutes) Feb. 9, Day 11 Feb. 11, Day 12 Feb. 16, Day 13 Feb. 18, Day 14 Feb. 23, Day 15 Meet in MMLC: Main Library, B183 Versant practice Communicative Focus: DiLL practice Pronunciation Focus: ought groups & focus words Pronunciation Focus: Intonation Communicative Focus: Networking and elevator speeches Communicative Focus: Networking and elevator speeches continued Round-robin elevator speeches Quiz 3 Recording Assignment 2 Due Presentation Assignment 3: Be prepared to deliver a 30-second elevator speech Feb. 25, Day 16 Mar. 1, Day 17 Communicative Focus: Office hours/one-on-one meetings Listening practice Strategies for effective office hours Meet in MMLC: Main Library, B183 Versant practice Quiz 4 Recording Assignment 3 Due Communicative Focus: DiLL practice Mar. 3, Communicative Focus: Responding to challenging

6 Day 18 Mar. 8, 10 Days situations in the classroom Role-play activity Versant Test & Individual meetings with instructor (NO CLASS) Quiz 5